a retum to feminine public virtue: judge judy and the myth...

Women's Studies in Communication Volume 27, Number 3, Fall 2004

A Retum to Feminine Public Virtue:Judge Judy and the Myth of the Tough Mother

Christina R. Foust

Expanding upon "feminine style" scholarship, this essay employs mythological criticismto explore a case in which women's rhetorical invention manages both aggressivenessand femininity. Judge Judy Sheindlin's rhetoric invokes the Tough Mother, a familiarcultural character emerging from the temperance movement, to promote a specialvirtuous ethos within the contemporary neo-conservative scene. Judge Judy's rhetorichighlights the continued challenges for women's public discourse, illuminating howfeminine public virtue may contribute to scapegoating in popular culture.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a conservative public discourse centering on theperceived decline in American morality gained prominence (Nash, 1997).Academics have contributed to this discourse, arguing that an absence ofcivic virtue and morality has denigrated American culture by replacing"true" moral debate with emotive claims and judgments (Maclntyre,1981). Rather than deliberating in the language of virtue, such discourseposits, the public discusses morality in the language of rights (Beiner,1992; Maclntyre, 1981). For instance, both pro-life and pro-choice advo-cates frame the abortion debate in terms of child rights, fetus rights,maternal rights, and human rights, rather than virtues such as prudence(Maclntyre, 1981). Social commentators like Bennett (1992) and Olasky(1992) argue that infusing public policy with neo-conservative virtues likeself-discipline and personal responsibility will help resolve perennialpublic problems like poverty, unemployment, crime, and substance abuse.The neo-conservative virtuecrats contend that

many Americans became either embarrassed, unwilling, or un-able to explain with assurance to our children and to one anotherthe difference between right and wrong, between what is helpful

Christina R. Foust is a lecturer at Colorado State University. This essay was derivedfrom her Masters thesis directed by Ronald E. Lee at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the 2002 National Commu-nication Association conference in New Orleans, LA. The author wishes to thank RonLee, Phyllis Japp, and Lyn Kathlene for their guidance in completing the original thesis,and Sara Hayden and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on thisessay.

270 Women's Studies in Communication

and what is destructive, what is ennobling and what is degrading.(Bennett, 1992, p. 33)

This resurgence of conservative "virtue talk" is of particular interest forfeminist scholars concerned with rhetorical and media criticism. Whilegovemment and business are still fraught with sex discrimination againstwomen as wage-earners and public leaders (Conway, Ahem, & Steuema-gel, 1999), this virtue-affirming discourse may again popularize the argu-ments that women have used when entering the historically signified"masculine turf' of public life (Campbell, 1983). Women have consis-tently drawn upon their special domestic virtues, such as piety andtemperance, to justify their entry into gendered public spaces (Matthews,1992). Within today's conservative context, one may expect women togain special ethos in public life through traditional submissiveness andquiet virtue. However, as this analysis explores, women may not need tomaintain demure, "lady-like" behavior in order to gain public power.Since an aggressive, yet feminine, style remains largely unaddressed infeminist and communication scholarship,' it is important to explore whysome aggressive public women, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, areconsidered "bitches" (Campbell, 1998), while others are embraced bymembers of the public.

As a rhetorical figure, Judith Sheindlin, known through her popularpersona as Judge Judy, provides an opportunity to explore a number oftheoretical and practical issues of women's public involvement. Now in itsseventh season. Judge Judy stands out as a syndicated ratings success thathas spawned nearly a dozen "reality" courtroom imitators. Judge Judyremains one of the most popular television programs in the aftemoon talkshow format, attracting about seven million viewers each weekday(Burkeman, 2003) and often beating Oprah Winfrey in the key "early-fringe" time slots leading into local news (Albiniak, 2003, Febmary 17).In addition. Judge Judy has three best-selling adult books, and recentlysigned a $157 million contract for her program—making her one of thehighest paid television personalities on air today (Wapshott, 2003). Iron-ically, she has achieved such public notoriety by preaching conservativevirtues, while simultaneously justifying much of her judicial authoritythrough her practical, domestic role: "my private life is important, becauseit has given me some firsthand perspectives in dealing with the familydisputes I must resolve" (Sheindlin, 1996, p. 4). Although Judge Judy is a

Christina R. Foust 271

popular public figure and judge, much of her persona thus rests on thetraditional feminine roles of mother and wife.

Because she is a wonfian, a trained legal professional, and a mediamogul, Sheindlin stands at the intersection of gender, govemment, busi-ness, and popular culture. As such. Judge Judy is a window on the modemresurgence of virtue and "appropriate" public femininity. The followingquestion serves as a focal point for this analysis: How is Judge Judy ableto navigate cultural contradictions surrounding women and public life? Iargue that there is a rhetorical explanation for the resonance of JudgeJudy's aggressive, yet feminine, persona in American public life thatechoes a familiar cultural gender myth—the Tough Mother.^ After brieflyreviewing scholarship on women's entry into public address, I clarify the"features" of the Tough Mother as mythical female public figure emerginganalogically from the temperance movement. I then perform a narrativeanalysis and criticism of Judge Judy discourse, concluding that JudgeJudy's rhetorical performance of Tough Mother mythology reinforces thehistorical norm that women are virtuous arbiters of "moral dilemmas" inpublic life. Further, because neo-conservative discourse frames issues likepoverty and political disenfranchisement as "moral dilemmas," JudgeJudy reinforces the troubling ideological tendency to "blame the victims"of social problems (see Cloud, 1998). As a prolific entertainment figure.Judge Judy's verbal assaults may normalize scapegoating against theneo-conservative "villains" who come before her bench, in lieu of pro-moting productive political solutions. In conclusion, I elaborate on thepossible implications that Tough Mother mythology has for women'spublic discourse and feminist scholarship in the era of neo-conservativevirtue.

Women's Rhetorical Entry in the Public Sphere

The majority ofthe literature on women's public and political discoursehas one common assumption—women's entry into the masculinized pub-lic sphere has been difficult. For instance, in early America, a woman whopublicly used her voice might have expected various physical and emo-tional punishments, such as being stigmatized as a whore, being tied to achair and submerged in a lake, or being carted off to the insane asylum(Jamieson, 1988). Historic norms of femininity prevented women fromappearing as competent speakers and as women simultaneously, due to thepublic sphere-private sphere divide (Campbell & Jerry, 1988). The mas-


culine public space of rationality, aggressiveness, and strength had noplace for women. Women's contributions to society were valued as privatesphere contributions, only insofar as tbey indicated a suitable, femininewoman.

Tbus, women entering public life faced special challenges in justifyingtbeir presence on tbe platform. Several scbolars (Campbell, 1995; Carlson,1992; Dow, 1991; Mattina, 1994; Zaeske, 1995) detail how early femalerhetors blended public and private spheres in tbeir argumentation. Sucbrhetorical invention afforded women the opportunity to participate inpublic action, as Zaeske (1995) indicates: many early public women"employed a rhetoric of gendered morality that emphasized the specialnature of female benevolence and the social utility of exercising thatbenevolence through the spoken word" (p. 191). Women did not success-fully enter the public sphere by appealing to tbeir inalienable rigbts; rather,early "womanhood" feminists built arguments for their public involve-ment upon tbeir special virtues. For instance, Frances E. Willard of tbeWomen's Cbristian Temperance Union (WCTU) conceptualized the rightto vote as "home protection," a means for women to rid the bome of sinssuch as alcohol through their ability to nurture (Dow, 1991, p. 300).Women like Willard assured audiences tbat tbey would maintain tbeirfemininity in the form of domestic virtue (Campbell, 1995), but tbeywould also benefit tbe public world—and the private world by exten-sion—tbrougb tbe social enactment of tbat virtue. One of the feministmovement's contradictions thus surfaced near tbe end of the nineteenthcentury: women spoke out and shed part of their skin of femininity whilesimultaneously using arguments that cloaked themselves in their gender's"superior" traits (Mattina, 1994).

Tbis growing body of literature has addressed many important histor-ical considerations in tbe formation of American public femininity, espe-cially tbe turbulent legacy of virtue embedded tberein. Furtber, as Ielaborate in tbe essay's final section, women's public address literature basbelped clear valuable space for "feminine style" rhetorical analysis. Tbepresent criticism of Judge Judy's rbetoric contributes to women's publicaddress and feminine style literature by expanding the understanding offeminine public virtue, illustrating a case in which aggressive virtue isrhetorically salient. As Judge Judy's feminine style also illustrates, femi-nine public virtue in the contemporary neo-conservative context mayserve an anti-woman or at least anti-feminist agenda. Finally, as feministrhetorical scbolars suggest (Jamieson, 1995; Japp & Japp, 1999; Rusbing,


1989), threads of non-political rhetoric, like the rhetoric of popular cul-ture, contribute to American public femininity. As Judge Judy's rhetoricsuggests, the feminine style is at work outside of political office andactivist circles. In order to rhetorically explain Judge Judy's prominence insociety, J employ mythological criticism.

Cultural Myth and the Origin of the Tough Mother

Cultural myth provides critics with a rich tool for analyzing Americanfemininity through women's public discourse, all the while recognizing analternative to masculine systems of linear logical reasoning for evaluatingrhetorical texts. Cultural myths have larger-than-life plotlines of heroesand villains that reveal cultural truths metaphorically or analogically,using standard foundational values to offer meaning for new culturalparticulars (Bass & Cherwitz, 1978). In other words, cultural myth con-nects values of the past with people of the present (Sykes, 1970). Becausemyths do not rely upon specific premises as logical reasoning does, theircontent is inherently ambiguous, allowing them to rhetorically bridgeideological contradictions (Combs, 1993; Rushing, 1983). Audience mem-bers may substitute themselves for the myth's characters or their ownsituations for the myth's plot, reaching the story's moral or conclusionenthymematically. Hence, myths provide prime means for identificationbetween members of the community at large and representative rhetors ofthe community authority (Braden, 1975; Bruner, 1959).

Narrative, myth, and ideology are inextricably linked together, asrepeated cultural stories enter into "that precise field of the distributionof the dominant ways in which a society makes sense of what is goingon around it or what is happening to it" (Hall, 1984, pp. 7-8). Thenarrative structure allows myths to pass along knowledge about theworld in a way that would transcend time and place, giving myths acharacter similar to the "truth" we garner from empirical observationsof the world (Fisher, 1985). Kenneth Burke's scholarship on poeticsconcludes that myth "narratizes" principles that at once reflect bothpast origins ofa value and future prospects (Burke, 1966; Burke 1969a;Burke, 1969b; Carter, 1996).̂ Thus, cultural myths allow us to makesense of and even evaluate others' actions, as myths are containers forsuch sense-making ideologies.


The Temperance Movement and Tough Mother Mythology

Women were central to several movements that colored the publicsphere of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including dressreform, anti-prostitution efforts, the suffrage movement, the progres-sive movement, and the temperance movement (Campbell, 1989). Thetemperance movement "represented the most impressive grass-rootsmobilization of women for reform—as opposed to the mobilizationduring the war years which had had no specific policy goal—to datein American history" (Matthews, 1992, pp. 156-7). As such a remark-able public policy action, the temperance movement gave rise tohistorically salient values of American public femininity. What ismore, women involved in the temperance movement had a "confron-tational spirit" (Matthews, 1992, p. 157), which was "shocking by therules of middle class female conduct of the time" (Gusfield, 1963, p.89). Within the context of the temperance movement, it was acceptableand even appropriate for the otherwise demure and submissive "truewomen" to march boisterously to a public building—the saloon—andshut it down, all the while instructing men on how to conduct them-selves morally.

In terms of their rhetorical involvement, women in temperance societ-ies were "both allies and symbolic props in a campaign to attach publicvalue to personal habits of sobriety" (Ryan, 1990, p. 36). Female temper-ance activists had various motivations for joining the movement. Early inthe temperance movement, most of the women involved were conserva-tive Protestants who sought the banishment of alcohol for biblical andmoral reasons (Gusfield, 1963). However, as temperance advanced, moreprogressive and politically liberal women, seeking such rights as the voteand equal employment, flew the temperance flag in order to achieve theirgoals (Pegram, 1998). As more women became involved in collectiveaction of the time, leaders of the suffrage and the temperance movementsforged a loose alliance to Increase their public power and accomplish theirbroad public goals (Kraditor, 1965). Alcohol was constructed as a "com-mercialized vice to control government and society" (Kraditor, 1965, p.60), becoming the tie that bound the temperance, suffrage, and progressivemovements together. At the intersection of these three movements, adiscourse formed which constructed the masculine public sphere of gov-ernment and business as corrupt, inefficient, and non-representative of theneeds of moral men and virtuous women. This anti-institution discourse


becomes an especially significant feature in enacting Tough Mother my-thology within the contemporary neo-conservative movement.

The temperance movement provided American culture with a testingground for acceptable and visible feminine rhetorical behavior, forming amythological foundation of feminine personae through which womencould publicly invent themselves; female rhetors may employ such arche-types today (Jorgensen-Earp, 1990). Emerging from the temperancemovement, the Tough Mother encapsulates the moral and domestic valuesof another major feminine archetype—the Virtuous Woman (see Welter,1976)—including the elements of motherhood, church attendance, educa-tion, and nurturance. Yet unlike the Virtuous Woman, the Tough Motherwho embarks on a journey of public advocacy does not have to hold hertongue in a "feminine" way. Rather, as women of the temperance move-ment proved, the Tough Mother may publicly speak in an aggressive stylebecause society respects her moral authority and fears her Chrisdan power(both of which are gained through the gendering of the domestic sphere).The Tough Mother has a special ethos as a public reformer because a lustypursuit of power and money has tainted the scene she travels into, whilethe scene she emerges from is characterized by morality, purity, andgoodness. The Tough Mother avoids being identified as a Eallen Womanby uniting private virtue with public speech.

Lakoff's "ideal family" metaphor for conservative political ideology.Strict Father morality, helps explain archetypal Tough Mother rhetoric.Strict Father morality turns on a social Darwinist view of the world, wherethe Father sets sometimes harsh rules that the child must follow withoutquestion for his or her own protecdon (Lakoff, 1996). Strict Father valuesstress the "strict dichotomy between good and evil," and the importance ofobeying moral rules to achieve a successful life (p. 100). The StrictFather's "love and nurturance . . . should never outweigh parental author-ity, which is itself an expression of love and nurturance—tough love"(p. 66)."

The Tough Mother, as gleaned from temperance movement rhetors, isa variation of the Strict Father. Temperance women's rhetoric sought tokeep the dangers of drinking, prostitution, abuse, and poverty away fromtheir children. This protective gesture fits closely with the model ofnurturance often attributed to mothers. However, many temperance activ-ists also expounded that the only way for drunkards and other "intemp-erants" to get out of their plight was to do so of their own volition (Rose,1996). Like Lakoff's Strict Father, the woman of the WCTU expected


Others to follow her moral, exemplary way of life. Though tough moth-ering temperance women preached religious/moral consequences of eter-nal damnation, they also reiterated the practical consequences of excessivealcohol consumption—lowered income and a reduced quality of life.

Tough Mothering as a variation of Strict Fathering gains contemporarycurrency within neo-conservative "tough love" discourse, which arosefrom the fundamental teachings of ToughLove therapy, popular in the late1970s and early 1980s (Holihan & Reilly, 1987). ToughLove follows thepremise that children, not parents, are to blame for the former's owndestructive misbehavior:

It is true, of course, that parents have a tremendous influence ontheir children.. . But ultimately we have to ask the question"Who's minding the store?" Who inhabits that human body anddetermines what it does? Who or what steers its course? Someextemal force? Parents? Past events? (York, York, & Wachtel,1984, p. 30)

ToughLove posits that children must fend for themselves in order tosurvive, and that parents have and should maintain authority over theirsubordinate children (York, York, & Wachtel, 1982). Without proper,authoritative guidance, children will continue to misbehave and ultimatelyend up destroying their lives, their parents' lives, and possibly lives withinthe community. Finally, neo-conservative "tough love" stems from theToughLove argument that many behavior problems have their "roots in theculture," and that institutional professionals, such as therapists, onlyperpetuate family problems (York, et al., 1982, p. 23).

Like the ToughLove self-help program, neo-conservative "tough love"discourse consists of proclaiming what it frames as "harsh truths for otherpeople's good" (Roberts, 1995, p. xi). Neo-conservatives cast themselvesin the role of frustrated "moral" parents vis-a-vis the "permissive" liberalsand institutions that allow society, the delinquent children, to self-destruct.Today's outspoken conservatives such as Mona Charen, "Dr. Laura"Schlessinger, and Judge Judy echo a sentiment familiar to ToughLoveauthors: "Blame has become a favorite American pastime" (York, et al.,1982, p. 55). The confluence of tough love and temperance movementdiscourse illustrates the resonance of the Tough Mother analogue intoday's culture. The Tough Mother emerges today as an ideologicallyconservative, virtuous agent who employs practical advice to rescue a


scene corrupted by morally lax citizens and governmental institutions.Women gain an outsider's ethos from their gendered domestic virtue; yet,such virtuous qualities allow dispensadon for aggressive verbal style or"unladylike" behavior.' The resonance of the Tough Mother analoguebecomes clearer through analysis of Judge Judy texts.

Analysis of Judge Judy Discourse

To illustrate Tough Mother mythology in a contemporary context, Iexamine the mytho-narrative elements that emerge from actual episodes ofJudge Judy, as well as Sheindlin's books and web-site.* In the explicitnarradve layer, the actual drama unfolds around the litigants, both plain-dffs and defendants, who seek Judge Judy's arbitration. However, asecond and perhaps more important implicit narrative layer emerges in theconflict between Judge Judy as the protagonist, and the larger culturerepresented by individuals who come before her bench. As I elaborate inthe final section, the implicit "culture war" between Judge Judy andcertain litigants fuels neo-conservative scapegoating.

People involved in the business of television have recognized the"natural" narrative lure of the courtroom scene, including Judge JudyExecutive Producer, Randall Douthit: "It's a perfect vehicle for telling astory. Every story has a built-in conflict and a beginning and a middle andan end" (Pergament, 1999, p. IC). What is more, the explicit conflictsunfolding in Judge Judy's courtroom are more emotionally charged thanother small claims courtroom programs, such as The People's Court,which receive substantially lower ratings than Judge Judy (Fretts, 1998).Though some cases are relatively benign disputes between strangers.Judge Judy oversees more dramatic disputes between former lovers,former roommates, and estranged parents and children.'' One representa-tive case (Kupcinet, 2000a), Vaughn v. Burgess, began as a routine conflictover half of the payment for a stereo. Caralyne Vaughn and her fiance,Jeremiah Burgess, resided together for a year and a half. During this time,they decided to purchase a stereo; Ms. Vaughn paid for the entire stereobecause Mr. Burgess was unemployed at the time. Though Judge Judyeventually forced Burgess to pay the $200 he owed Vaughn for the stereo,the conflict became more heated as the hearing continued. The 19-year-oldBurgess cheated on the 22-year-old Vaughn with a 16-year-old girl in theirhome; the audience learns that Burgess assaulted Vaughn after she tried to"drown" his cellular phone when the 16-year-old called him. The plot


twisted again when Burgess produced love letters that Vaughn wrote himafter their romantic involvement had ended. After some argument over theownership of the love letters, Judge Judy tore them to pieces in front of thelitigants.

As Vaughn v. Burgess illustrates. Judge Judy cases involve details thatgo beyond the disputes in question, including matters of assault, infidelity,employment status, income status, sexual or paternal histories, and crim-inal records. The somewhat extraneous details that Judge Judy seeks insuch personal cases become particularly important when examining theimplicit conflict between Judge Judy as protagonist and the "immoral"scene in which she speaks. Before returning to this idea, however, I brieflydiscuss the way in which conflict between plaintiff and defendant isdramatized in the explicit narrative. Understanding one explicit figure inparticular—the antagonist—is critical to grasping the process of identifi-cation operating in the implicit narrative.

It is difficult to glean a protagonist in the explicit trial narrative becauseJudge Judy usually verbally assaults all parties at some point during courtcases. Since the protagonists do not stand out because of their heroicsubstance, they may be identified by negatively or contextually examiningwhat the antagonists are not. I observed that the antagonist in Judge Judy'scourtroom is the person who does not "follow the rules," so it wouldappear that the protagonist is one who "follows the rules," or at least doesnot break the rules as flagrantly as the antagonist. The "rules" deal with thestyle and content of evidence presentation on an explicit level, whichuncovers the litigant's moral character on an implicit level; such judg-ments are consistent with Strict Father morality, which holds that aperson's public behavior displays her or his inner character and self-discipline (Lakoff, 1996).

In terms of style. Judge Judy frequently berates litigants for not an-swering her questions in an "appropriate" way, including when litigantsinterrupt her or speak out of tum. More importantly, in terms of testimonycontent. Judge Judy often tells litigants that they are blatantly lying orwrong when she appears to dislike what she hears. She uses "commonsense" reasoning as a litmus test for detecting courtroom antagonists.Marcie Reeves sued Jeffrey Colletta because he allegedly mined her creditby filing for bankruptcy (Kupcinet, 2000b). The former engaged couplehad a joint credit card, which Colletta failed to report when he filed forbankruptcy. Reeves had to pay the balance on the card, which included


$3500 for her engagement ring. Judge Judy asked defendant Coletta whathe did with the engagement ring after the plaintiff returned it to him.

CoUetta: I was emotionally distressed at the dme so I threw itaway.

Sheindlin: I don't believe you. You know why I don't believeyou? Because it wasn't in your answer [a written document givento the judge before the trial]. Mr. Colletta, if you paid $3500 foran engagement ring and [the jeweler] wouldn't take it back, [yousell i t] . . . And unless you're living under a rock, you take an adin the paper and say you're willing to sell it for $2000. . . I don'tknow many people who probably earn a lot more money thanyou, that would take the ring and throw it in the river. It doesn'tmake sense. Do you understand? They don't keep me here, sir,because I'm gorgeous. So I don't believe that you threw it in theriver. (Kupcinet, 2000b)

The reasons for Judge Judy's harsh personal attacks against explicitantagonists like Colletta become clearer when examining the implicitnarratives and the subsequent identification processes they spark. JudgeJudy moves beyond arbitradng explicit courtroom conflicts. As the im-plicit narradve's protagonist. Judge Judy scolds lidgants about their "im-moral" behavior, allowing the audience outside of the conflict to share alaugh and vicariously punish those who violate "the rules."

Through a process of identification. Judge Judy audience members areinvited to see their values as consubstantial to Judge Judy's protagonistvalues. Burke (1973) describes idendfication as "one's material and men-tal ways of placing oneself as a person in the groups and movements," or"one's ways of sharing vicariously in the role of leader or spokesman[sic]" (p. 227). Television cridc, Bruce Fretts, writes, "Sheindlin's take-no-prisoners style has tapped into the public's growing resentment of thelegal system. In the post-O.J. world, people crave a jurist who lays downthe law with common sense" (Fretts, 1998). Peter Brennan, executiveproducer of the program, is quoted on the Judge Judy website: "She tendsto tell the litigants exactly what the audience is thinking" {The Judge,n.d.). In Burke's (1973) terms. Judge Judy is posidoned as the audience's"reflection in the social mirror" (p. 227).

Burke (1973) argues that discursively defining an "us" who differs froma "them" aids idendfication. Construcdng an enemy (or a "them"), ac-


cording to Edelman (1988), is accomplished more effectively with subtle"implicit associations" which "lend emotional intensity to a public issue"(p. 73). Judge Judy does not directly label antagonistic litigants as "theenemy;" instead, through phrases like "lack of personal responsibility,"she identifies the cultural enemy for her audience (Sheindlin, 1996). Theseimplied cues, combined with Judge Judy's affectively charged delivery,allow the audience to rehearse public moral posturing along with her. AsEdelman (1988) argues, "In constructing such enemies and the narrativeplots that define their place in history, people are manifestly definingthemselves and their place in history as well; the self-definition lendspassion to the whole transaction" (p. 76). Thus, audience members maydefine themselves as consubstantially moral by identifying with JudgeJudy, uniting them against those who "break the rules" and contribute toa morally destitute community. Judge Judy's heroic ethos is ironicallygenerated through matemal connections and abrasive style, as USA Todayproclaims: "the truth is what Sheindlin demands. No bull. No excuses.She's the mom who loves you but wants no 'he made me do it' whining.And she can always tell if you're lying. All she has to do is make eyecontact" (The Judge, n.d.).

To illustrate identification through the implicit narrative, it is apparentthat Judge Judy broadcasts moral rather than solely punitive judgments forthe broader television and cultural audience. Litigants become implicitantagonists based on the cases they present, the lifestyles they lead, andthe way they explicitly conduct themselves in court. Thomasina Danielssued Kimberly Simpson for assaulting her with an automobile cigarettelighter after Simpson trespassed on her property and vandalized hermother's car (Kupcinet, 2000c). Both women, 22 years old and 19 yearsold respectively, were romantically involved with the same man who waspresent in the courtroom. Though the details of this case are sensational,the implicit confiict between Judge Judy and Simpson became even moreintense as the hearing proceeded. Judge Judy responded to Simpson'sclaim that her lover did not visit or nurture their child:

Then if he doesn't do that, he's going to miss out. But that's yourresponsibility, before you make a baby with somebody, you haveto be sure that that person is going to be in their lives. And thereare things that women can do to prevent having children withpeople who they're not sure are going to be a part of theirchildren's lives forever. And if you were dumb enough not to


take care so tbat you didn't have a child witb someone wbo saysbe was just a casual sexual playmate, tben you deal with it.. .that's your problem. You're a woman, you're supposed to beable to say tbat I'm not going to bring a child into this worldunless I am committed to tbe fact tbat either I'm going to raisethe child myself or if I pick a mate, if I pick a mate, it's going tobe a mate tbat's going to be there . . .you are supposed to be amother. In a different category than just a moronic teenager.(Kupcinet, 2000c)

Note that the case itself only deals with assault; yet Judge Judy's positionon the bencb allows her to address an even broader, more importantneo-conservative case in tbe public spbere—tbe perceived decline insocial morality. Simpson personifies the irresponsibility tbat Judge Judyclaims is so common in America, the lack of forethought that makes lifedifficult for children bom to "irresponsible," unmarried parents.

Judge Judy's books extend her television interactions by berating"liberal" solutions to public problems: "We have tried kindhearted andcostly social programs. We have tried blaming ourselves as a commu-nity. . . I have never read a study tbat concluded that people must takeresponsibility for their own lives" (Sheindlin, 1996, p. 20). Because tbesocial structure bas failed to maintain morality. Judge Judy bas essentially"taken tbe law into her own hands" with the help of broadcast television.Sbeindlin furtber evidences ber anti-legal institution posture, claiming that"All good judges draw on their experience [italics added] . . . Being agood judge requires building a fund of knowledge, legal and practical. Tbelaw, coupled with common sense [italics added], can be powerful"(Sbeindlin, 1996, p. 77). Sheindlin lauds personal experiences over thejudicial system and other social institutions, framing advice as "the simpleand true lessons I've learned, both on and off the bench" (Sheindlin, 1999,p. 10). In other words, her judicial guidance does not come solely fromprevious legal precedents or current trends in law. Judge Judy's courtroombecomes a sanctuary where ber legal pbilosopby may be enacted, since the"real world" courtroom—consubstantial with an immoral public culture—does not allow sucb practices.

Tbrough the implicit narrative. Judge Judy uses the televised courtcases before ber as vehicles to berate "liberal" trends in tbe culture war. Interms of identification, litigants draw tbeir "immoral" substance from"immoral" ideologies; both are the antagonistic "them." If society sub-


scribed to Judge Judy justice, litigants like those that come before herwould not be allowed to behave "inappropriately." Sheindlin's (1996)implicit protagonist discourse creates a confiict with those who do notfollow the neo-conservative virtues of personal responsibility, self-disci-pline, honesty, and goodness to her liking:

As citizens, we have the right to demand responsible behaviorfrom each other, and from our government. If individuals amongus live irresponsibly, the rest of us should not be penalized.When it comes to victims, the people screaming loudest areusually the culprits. The real victims—the majority of decentpeople—suffer in silence. This is a peculiarly American sickness,(p. 177)

Though the conflict, antagonists, and protagonists are clearly identifi-able, the implicit narrative has no resolution. Audience members areinvited to join Judge Judy's crusade against social immorality by identi-fying with her rhetoric. Sheindlin states that she left family court fortelevision to help foster such a process:

It's a much larger audience. Whatever message I spew: "Takeresponsibility for your life. If you're a victim, it's your fault.Stop being a victim. Get a grip! You're the one who's supposedto make a direction to your life" . . . All these messages I tried inFamily Court to instill in people . . .[Judge Judy] sounded likesomething that would not only be fun, but worthwhile as well.(Lee, 1998, p. E2)

Her television show allows seven million viewers to identify with hervalues each day, putting "their collective foot down" on society by passingtheir own judgments against litigants.

Understanding Judge Judy as a Tough Mother

Why has the public welcomed Judge Judy as a legitimate spokespersonwithin a masculine public space, even as she accosts the very people whoseek her assistance?* As suggested in the introduction, why does thecontemporary audience accept Judge Judy and reject other seemingly"tough" public women like Hillary Rodham Clinton? Three features ofJudge Judy narratives illustrate the judge's rhetorical invocation of Tough


Mother mythology in contemporary cultural discourse: Judge Judy usespersonal, often domestic, experiences to justify decisions; she uses virtuelanguage as she aggressively attempts to rid America of vice; she offerspractical advice tbat is also nurturing, embodying Lakoff's (1996) prag-matic Strict Father metaphor.

A dominant characteristic of Judge Judy's discourse centers on her ownexperiences, as in her first book's introduction: "As a woman, a motberand a judge wbo has seen our criminal justice system deteriorate for nearlya quarter of a century, I have had it" (p. 8). Her gender and domestic roleslend credence to ber public and professional etbos:

You deal with [public] problems the way you would deal withany crisis in a family: by sbowing compassion and setting strictlimits. As tbe mother of five children, I know you have to gettough at tbe same time that you show love. Without respect anddiscipline, you might as well give up tbe game. Family courtshould be no different. The exact same psychology applies.(Sheindlin, 1996, p. 14)

From a neo-conservative standpoint. Judge Judy's "practical" approach tosolving disputes represents an altemative to the current "morally corrupt"system, which discursively relies on arguments that are not based ineveryday experience. As in the temperance context, today's institutions arenot protecting families—thus, themes from the familiar Tough Mothermyth help justify and even laud Judge Judy's public presence. The ToughMotber may leave private life behind in order to confront the public threatsto its sanctity.

A second theme revolves around the presence of virtue and morality inJudge Judy's Tough Mother narrative. Judge Judy is on a mission to savesociety from moral impoverishment, hammering the message that herlitigants and members of society must take responsibility for their ownactions or accept the consequences. Recall that tbe Tough Mother arche-type formed under conditions in wbich women were called upon becauseof tbeir perceived inberent morality. Tbougb Judge Judy does not appealto a transcendent morality, sbe maintains conservative ideology by resolv-ing explicit confiicts tbrough the principles of virtue, rather than theprinciples of rights. Regardless of whether or not Judge Judy is actuallyreligious or moral, her discourse invokes gendered morality stemmingfrom Tough Mother mythology, affording ber special public credibility.


Although traditional femininity holds that women are to be submissive,drawing on their culturally afforded virtue justifies their need to "gettough" in public speech. The mythical Tough Mother cannot afford tocalmly address a moral drama's antagonists; in the temperance movement,women often used aggressive moral speech to guide people back towardthe "good life." As she performs it rhetorically. Judge Judy's ToughMother persona is no different. When dealing with those who threaten hermoral way of life and those she tries to protect. Judge Judy is justified tocastigate society with impatience, a loud voice, biting wit, and brutaljudgment. Judge Judy can perform femininity and aggression simulta-neously, because her rhetoric "makes sense" with neo-conservative con-struction of a culture and govemment in moral chaos. A public womanwhose style is stern (if less noticeably accosting), but whose message ismore nurturing or community-focused may paradoxically be questioned asbeing less womanly or less feminine than Judge Judy. Hillary RodhamClinton's "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child" approach seems to havefallen victim to such a paradox in public opinion. In terms of this analysis,Clinton embodies the very morally lax institutional "liberal" that neo-conservative Tough Mothers like Judge Judy are attempting to eradicatefrom the culture. Because Clinton's "Nurturant Parent" rhetoric (seeendnote 4) falls outside of the contemporary "virtue talk" of "personalresponsibility," her often unconventional femininity (see Jamieson, 1995)may be called into question while Judge Judy's gender (if not her broaderpersona) is left unscathed by public attack.

Finally, Judge Judy's Tough Mother advice is framed as practical aswell as moral. This relates to the pragmatic conservative metaphor de-scribed by Lakoff (1996): "The goal is to get ahead, to serve yourself-interest... If you want to get ahead, you'd better be self-disciplinedand self-reliant. You'd better stick to the straight and narrow so thatnobody gets upset with you" (p. 286). Recall that while many womenentered the temperance movement because they believed that alcohol wasmorally reprehensible, others joined for the practical reason that they didnot want abusive husbands in the home (Gusfield, 1963). From thisperspective, Sheindlin offers advice that not only morally rebukes listen-ers; it nurtures them with practical "common sense." Not all explicitparticipants receive this type of advice. It appears to be reserved for thosewho "follow the rules" of style and content. Thus, like the Strict Father,the Tough Mother protects those who are worthy of her care from outsideharm, provided they follow the rules of self-discipline.


Judge Judy's aggressive verbal wit, practical advice for surviving andexcelling in a competitive world, and non-institutionally grounded, com-mon sense decision-making, exude the cbaracteristics of the mythicalTough Mother By rhetorically inventing herself through Tough Mothermythology. Judge Judy accesses feminine public virtue in a contemporaryneo-conservative scene of failed institutions. Though her discourse issituated in the neo-conservative context of virtue, I have shown that herpopular culture persona resonates with Americans through her analogicconnection to Tough Mother mythology.

Conclusions

This analysis of Judge Judy's discourse opens avenues to understandingAmerican public femininity in neo-conservatism, popular culture, andcurrent feminist scholarship. Initially, I propose that the Tough Mother isa rhetorical genre for women's public discourse, one that expands andinforms Lakoff's political morality metaphors. Generic criticism revealscategorical similarities which "make works rhetorically absorbing andconsequential" (Campbell & Jamieson, 1990, p. 8). Tbe Tough Motber asa rbetorical genre provides a set of arguments and implicit assumptionsabout women's public femininity and their purpose for public involve-ment. Critics may understand tbis genre's features through a dramaturgicalexamination (Burke, 1969a) of verbal stylistic agency, tbe rhetorically orimplicitly constructed scene, and the special virtuous nature of the agent.

The specific ideologies of Tough Mother agents may vary, but tbemeans to acbieve public action within this genre are likely to be similar.As Judge Judy exemplifies, tbe Tougb Mother uses aggressive communi-cation to accomplish her agenda in public. Other public women, likeortbodox talk radio host. Dr. Laura Schlessinger, conservative newspapercolumnist, Mona Charen, and former democratic Texas governor, AnnRichards (Dow & Tonn, 1993), display similar "toughness" in their publiccommunication. Aggressiveness and competitiveness have been catego-rized as masculine traits (Blankensbip & Robson, 1995), yet the rhetoricalconstruction of scene and agent witbin the Tough Motber genre affordswomen tbe untraditional opportunity to maintain tbeir femininity whilesimultaneously "getting tough."

Appeals to Tough Mother rhetoric implicitly or explicitly illuminate apublic scene of masculine treachery. This scenic construction gives ge-neric agents special credibility as "outsiders." Agents may evoke feminine


public virtue by explicitly drawing on their domestic roles as wives andmothers. The media coverage during 1992's "Year of the Woman" elec-tions, for instance, focused on the unique perspective women brought tothe policy making process (Fox, 1997). During this election, women con-structed their campaigns around issues of family and community, forego-ing much attention to partisan and ideological issues (Fox, 1997). ToughMother rhetoric draws upon feminine public virtue, but opens the possi-bility that women may be aggressive in publicly expressing their con-cerns.^

Second, this analysis illuminates the symbiotic relationship betweenneo-conservatism and feminine public virtue. The Tough Mother's specialethos solidifies neo-conservative laments against declining public moral-ity, making such rhetoric particularly salient. While Judge Judy does notwarrant judgments with transcendent moral authority, her pragmatic vari-ation of Strict Father morality advances the neo-conservative constructionof a culture in moral chaos. Judge Judy preaches the importance ofself-discipline, responsibility, and common sense, which comprise andadvance the neo-conservative virtue agenda (Nash, 1997).'"

Unfortunately, Judge Judy reinforces conservative discourse at a cost.The identification she creates with her audience is often at the expense ofdisenfranchised groups. Edelman (1988) argues that in creating a politicalenemy, groups often participate in "blaming the victim," or blaming socialills on those who appear to be suffering from those ills the most. Recallthat Judge Judy does not listen to testimony that she does not want to hear;if a litigant behaves like a conservative enemy (a "victim") she immedi-ately passes verbal judgment against that person. In her books, for in-stance. Judge Judy blames people on welfare for their own poverty,reifying a trend in contemporary conservative discourse (Cloud, 1998).Like conservatives advocating "family values," Judge Judy's focus onpersonal responsibility blames "ordinary people for their failure to mea-sure up to some abstract ideal" (Cloud, 1998, p. 411).

Through the daily medium of television. Judge Judy reinforces apowerful scapegoating process. Once identification creates an "us" and a"them," the former rhetorically places their burdens of sin and guilt on thelatter (Burke, 1973). In other words. Judge Judy conveniently constructs ascapegoat from the very courtroom participants who seek her help. Theaudience is invited to blame the socially downtrodden litigants for theirown problems, rather than seeking, participating in, and/or enacting othercommunity solutions. Judge Judy's invitation to scapegoat Utigants may


make neo-conservative political ideology palatable and even pleasurablefor television audiences—especially vis-a-vis tbe tiring task of findingpolitical resolutions to complex social dilemmas.

Future investigations into Tough Mothering and popular culture arenecessary to better understand conservative scapegoating, particularlywith the popularity of otber neo-conservative women like Dr. LauraSchlessinger, whose talk radio program draws an audience of 10 millionlisteners daily (Littleton, 1999). As tbe aforementioned example of HillaryRodbam Clinton supports, the political realm is an unwelcome place foraggressive women when their personae clash with neo-conservative vir-tues. Further, it seems that even neo-conservative Tough Mothers likeJudge Judy and Dn Laura find a special bome in popular culture, versusmore directly powerful public spaces like Congress or tbe business world.Perhaps the idea tbat a tough woman may have political agency in policymaking is too frightening for mainstream culture, even if her toughness issupported by feminine public virtue and the neo-conservative scene.Future analysis of tbe Tough Motber genre may explore tbe uniqueconstraints political or corporate life place on women's rhetoric, as well asthe salience of the Tougb Mother persona outside of neo-conservativevirtue's confines."

Finally, this analysis helps expand growing scbolarsbip in women'spublic discourse and "feminine style" rbetorical criticism. Feminine style"is comprised of the dimensions of discourse whieh may reveal or point toepistemic stances which we discover in the public political discourse ofwomen" (Blankenship & Robson, 1995, p. 357). Scholars describe a"feminine" or "effeminate" style of rbetoric as centered on tbe qualities ofnurturance, caring, emotion, community-mindedness, and personal expe-rience as legitimate decision-making tools (Blankensbip & Robson, 1995;Campbell, 1989; Dow & Tonn, 1993; Jamieson, 1988; Sullivan, 1993).The feminine style literature affords critics an altemative critical frame-work for analyzing rhetoric without the "standards set by the 'manly'style" (Jamieson, 1988, p. 80). It also allows critics to value women'svoices, in part for traditionally under-valued feminine virtues such asnurturance and compassion. In terms of this analysis, feminine stylecriticism takes feminine public virtue as a guiding precept for analyzingwomen's public discourse.

Like "feminine style" scholarship, mythological criticism encour-ages readers to celebrate tbe rbetorical deftness illustrated by womenin the nineteenth century, who literally invented their way into public


life. Mythological criticism also fosters an appreciation for the sym-bolic work of maintaining femininity in today's dynamic discursivecontext. Yet, as this analysis of Judge Judy illustrates, it is importantfor feminist critics to trace feminine public virtue's mythical genealogyto understand the complex rhetorical ways in which feminine virtuesare deployed. This account of Judge Judy's rhetoric highlights thepotential "baggage" carried by feminine public virtue in Tough Mothermythology. While Judge Judy draws upon experiential knowledge,nurturance, and mother-like protection to build her persona, the my-thology of virtue allows audiences to accept and even join her aggres-sive neo-conservative performance. As Parry-Giles and Parry-Giles(1996) suggest, the "feminine style" might be used by both female andmale rhetors to reify patriarchal oppression of women, as Judge Judyarguably does through a neo-conservative scapegoating process. Itdoes not necessarily follow that a feminine rhetorical style, whichappears to be less mired in institutional politics, justly advances apro-woman agenda (Parry-Giles & Parry-Giles, 1996). Mythologicalcriticism helps conceive of feminine style virtues as topoi or argumentsites that invoke particular historical values in the cultural scenes oftoday. Recognizing the mythological history of such virtues aids criticsin discerning the more righteously nourishing rhetors from the spec-tacularly scapegoating ones—even if they both exhibit a flair for thefeminine style.

In conclusion. Judge Judy's aggressive femininity "makes sense" cul-turally through its implicit rhetorical appeal to Tough Mother mythology.Although the Tough Mother offers Judge Judy a virtuous ethos in thecontemporary neo-conservative scene, her aggressive popular personaencourages audiences to scapegoat the downtrodden. Women's rhetoricaluse of the feminine style takes place in a wide array of contexts, includingpopular culture. Critics should turn to these other contexts, as well asrhetors from many ideological positions, to complicate our understandingof feminine public virtue. This analysis affirms that the feminine style ispotentially empowering for women and potentially nurturing for audi-ences, though it calls our attention to the mythology of virtue as poten-tially destructive for progressive politics. Through a more nuanced graspof public femininity, scholars may give voice to knowledge that will helpwomen achieve equality through, and acclaim for, their rhetorical contri-butions.


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Notes

'Tonn's (1996) analysis of Mary Harris "Mother" Jones is one of the few piecesto address how a "tough" style coincides with public femininity. Tonn accounts forJones's particular rhetorical choices through the "feminine" dynamics of motherhood,nurturance, and care, finding that Jones's militant style worked well to agitate her malelabor audiences. The present analysis expands Tonn's and other "feminine style"scholarship by troubling feminine virtues such as motherhood and care: I recognize suchvalues as rhetorically constructed and laden with an ideological history that may betraced through the vehicle of cultural myth. I argue that the feminine public virtueembodied or deployed by female rhetors cannot be understood apart from the largerideological scene of institutional treachery from which it emerged. Feminine publicvirtue's cultural history serves as a way to rhetorically account for "tough mothering"without taking woman's virtue for granted, as I explore in the conclusions of theanalysis.


^No scholarship has directly addressed the Tough Mother gender myth. However,Japp and Japp (1999) discuss the presence of "tough mothering" as an acceptablerhetorical choice for conservative women at the 1996 Republican National Convention.Women who reflect Lakoff's (1996) metaphorical conceptualization of conservatism, theStrict Father, must adapt their gender to the masculine conservative style. Japp and Japp(1999) argue that women may introduce the nurturance and empathy characteristic ofLakoff's (1996) liberal Nurturant Parent, while maintaining discipline. Hence, "toughmothering," as originally conceptualized by Japp and Japp, is a variation of Lakoff'sStrict Father political morality. Lakoff explains that Strict Father families do providenurturance and love, though it is defined differently than the Nurturant Parent's love(which is largely based on empathy). Likewise, "tough mothering" entails love that isbased on personal responsibility rather than empathy. My analysis draws upon thisdescription of "tough mothering" but extends it to the level of cultural myth through theanalogue of the temperance movement; my analysis is also concemed with topics thatJapp and Japp (1999) do not focus on: popular culture texts, the problematic ofaggressive feminine style, and the scenic concerns for Tough Mother mythology.

^At the actual textual level of analysis, critics may distinguish between explicitmyths, which are "told in the form of a particular kind of story," and implicit myths,which have "elements in speech indicating particular and essential assumptions whichgive meaning to the life of an individual or community and on which people can fallback in situations of crisis" (Waardenburg, 1980, p. 52). The narrative analysis in thefollowing section reveals that Judge Judy relies on implicit appeals to Tough Mothermythology; as a rhetor. Judge Judy does not explicitly tell a cultural tale, but uses ToughMother postulates to analogically lend meaning to the contemporary context.

''Lakoff offers an altemative politically liberal metaphor in the Nurturant Parent.Whereas the Strict Father sends his children into the world to fend for themselves, theNurturant Parent attempts to shelter the child from worldly dangers—protection evi-dences caring and love (Lakoff, 1996). "The principal goal of nurturance is for childrento be fulfilled and happy in their lives and to become nurturant themselves" (p. 109).Unlike Strict Fathers, Nurturant Parents teach their children, in a respectful way, tobecome fulfilled by questioning and exploring the world. Nurturant Parents placehighest priority on moral nurturance, which involves not only empathy, but their ownself-sacrifice for children's well-being. Moral strength for the Nurturant Parent does notinvolve adhering to strict morality. Instead, it includes "social responsibility, generosity,respect for the values of others, open-mindedness, [and] a capacity for pleasure" (p.137).

^While these similarities tighten the link between the temperance movement andcontemporary "tough love" culture, I would be remiss to not note two of the keydifferences between these cultural contexts. The first key difference which I alluded toin previous paragraphs is that the temperance movement incorporated a variety of liberalas well as conservative goals and ideologies. Women within the temperance movementsought the right to vote, as well as an end to the public sale and consumption of alcohol.The neo-conservative movement, on the contrary, is not as complex in its membership—its members hold a consistent political ideology which seeks an end to "moral bank-ruptcy" in American social life. The other key difference is that the temperancemovement had a more specific and distinct political goal than the current neo-conser-vative discourse, which seeks a more conceptual revival of particular values. Tough loveadvocates pursue a large cultural and political agenda, rather than a single policy change.

*I viewed approximately 50 episodes of Judge Judy and found these themes to besalient. I included 15 representative cases in the original draft of this project.

^Karen Miller, an original member of Judge Judy's development team, affirms that


selecting small claims cases in which relationships are at stake has been crucial to theprogram's success (personal communication, March 11, 2003). Miller explains thatiitigants who appear on Judge Judy seek something more than monetary compensa-tion—they seek emotional vindication.

*My conversation with Karen Miller augmented this question from a televisionindustry standpoint: How could a woman in her fifties who had a reputation for being"too loud" in the New York court systems compete with such well-mannered icons asJudge Wapner and Oprah Winfrey? Understanding Judge Judy as a Tough Mother helpsexplain her resonance within a neo-conservative context, and illustrates how powerfulpopular culture is as a rhetorical tool for identification.

'An excellent example of enacting feminine public virtue to promote policy is theMillion Mom March gun control rally that took place on May 14, 2000. Several womentook the stage in an effort to pass "sensible" gun legislation, drawing on their own tragicdomestic experiences in which family members died due to gun violence or accidents.Over 750,000 people participated in the rally, which was reported to be "angry" in toneat times (Levine, 2000, p. Al).

'"Interestingly, Judge Judy's pragmatic Tough Mother persona is somewhat pro-gressive on gender roles. Rather than claiming women should maintain strictly tradi-tional femininity, as the ideal Strict Father would (Lakoff, 1996), Judge Judy adviseswomen on practical ways to succeed in the competitive public world (Sheindlin, 1999).Judge Judy does not claim that women should remain in domestic roles in order to raisechildren; rather, she advises women to find proper care for their children should theychoose to be working parents.

' ' Future analyses may explore the continued challenges that the legacy of femininepublic virtue places on women in public life. Drawing on feminine public virtue as ameans to boost public ethos could have detrimental consequences for women outside ofpopular culture and neo-conservative allegiances. Should the discursive scene change,women's arguments based on virtue may not be as powerful. For instance, the press didnot characterize 1994's election atmosphere as a "time for change," two years afterwomen gained office within the special "Year ofthe Woman" public sphere (Fox, 1997).Though they could use their gender as a primary justification for candidacy in 1992,female Congressional candidates could not run as successfully as "political outsiders"when the scene was constructed differently in 1994 (Fox, 1997). It is important to notethat arguments casting candidates as "political outsiders" are not the exclusive purviewof women. However, because women are often automatically gendered as "feminine,"and because ofthe history of feminine public virtue traced in this analysis, they must goto great rhetorical lengths to build an "insider" ethos in public life. In fact, those femalepublic figures named as "insiders"—like Martha Stewart and Hillary Rodham Clinton—are typically called so pejoratively. In other words, female political "insiders" have theirfemininity called into question, while male "outsiders" do not have their masculinitycalled into question. It would seem that if women continue to emphasize feminine publicvirtue rather their rights and ethos as public citizens, they could continue to bemarginalized members of the masculine status quo.

a retum to feminine public virtue: judge judy and the myth...

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